UNC Football GM Drops Bold NFL's '33rd Team' Moniker for Bill Belichick-Led Program

Belichick brought in Michael Lombardi as the general manager for North Carolina's football program.

North Carolina Tar Heels general manager Lombardi during the Bill Belichick hiring announcement at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick holds the record for most postseason wins in NFL history with 31. He's up there in regular season wins, too, as one of only three coaches to win 300 or more regular season games in NFL history. Surely, he'll adopt a similar approach from his 29 years as a NFL head coach to his new role as the North Carolina Tar Heels' football coach.

Belichick hired Michael Lombardi, a former NFL general manager, as the GM for the UNC football program, a role that has become essential in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of college sports. Lombardi recently addressed his role and the NFL-like program the Tar Heels plan to build under Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion.

“Everything here is predicated on building a pro team,” Lombardi said to reporters about his new role via Brendan Marks of The Athletic. “We consider ourselves the 33rd team because everybody involved with our program has had some form or aspect in pro football.”

Lombardi will help put that plan into action, overseeing UNC's recruiting and marketing initiatives as Belichick's right-hand man. North Carolina has brought in many coaches with NFL experience to build Belichick's staff, including his sons Brian and Steve Belichick. Steve will be the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator while Brian will serve as safeties coach. Bill told reporters at his introductory press conference that his staff would have a "strong presence of NFL people."

As North Carolina gets closer to kicking off the Chapel Bill era, the program's mindset is clear. They will conduct business like a pro team.

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